Reality TV star Marnie Simpson says she was 'convinced' she was going to die during Celebrity SAS task
Reality TV star veteran Marnie Simpson says she was convinced she was going to die while taking part in a task on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
The reality TV personality and mum-of two, best known for appearing on Geordie Shore, is just one of the famous faces who has signed up for the celeb edition of the extreme military show, which sees a group of ex-army officials put a group of people through the Special Air Services screening process to test their mental, emotional and physical strength.
There have been six civilian series and two celeb series so far, and 32-year-old Simpson had been a keen viewer - before deciding to take part herself. In one instance, she was asked to complete a dare-devil trainasium task which is used in military exercises to prepare people for getting confident with heights and suitability for parachuting.
She said: “I still thought there was a chance I could die on that trainasium, even though I know it’s a Channel 4 show. I still thought I could be an unlucky person who dies!”. Despite the fear, Simpson said she still wanted to take part in the experience to challenge herself.
Explaining what happened in more detail, she said: “What was horrible about that task is the thing [wire] is attached to our backs so you can not feel it at all. If I had felt like a slight tug, I would have been a little more secure but I could not feel anything. So it just felt like I was walking across this plank and I did not like the feeling of having no support.”
Simpson is one of 15 celebs taking part in the upcoming series of the intense Channel 4 show which sees participants put through their paces by four former SAS operators. She went on: “I think because I’ve always enjoyed watching the show and it’s one of my favourites that it was definitely at the top of the list of things that I wanted to challenge myself with. It was just always something that I wanted to see if I would be able to do but it is probably the most difficult reality show that I have ever been in.”
Simpson shares children Rox, four, and Oax, one, with husband and former X Factor star Casey Johnson. She has appeared on other reality shows including Single AF (2017), Geordie OGs (2019) and Geordie Shore (2011).
The star went on to compare her experiences. She said: “Childbirth and pregnancy, that is definitely up there. The stress of parenthood is really intense but I think apart from health problems and stuff, nothing comes close to how hard this experience was. When we first started, they got us off the bus and put the bags over our heads and were making us march. That set the scary tone. From that moment, I was just like ‘We do not know what is going to happen. Anything can occur’.”
Earlier this month, Simpson also posted a clip from the upcoming series to tease her fans about what was to come. She told her 5.6million followers: that “freezing temperatures and extreme heights were definitely some of the hardest challenges [she’s] had to face.” She added: “I was just not physically prepared at all - not in the slightest.
“I’d had a baby 11 months prior by C-section and then I also had a breast uplift. So I literally went in there like three weeks after surgery, and after a C-section. My baby had colic, so I’d not slept in like six months.”
The series was filmed last year in New Zealand but will air this Sunday, Septmber 22 on Channel 4 at 9pm. A new episode will then be shown in the same time slot each week on a Sunday and Monday.